The Rock released a tough-love motivational app — and using it to wake up earlier for a week made me acknowledge a difficult truth about goals

If anyone can get you up in the morning, it's probably Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MTV

The Rock created a motivational alarm clock called 'The
Rock Clock' as part of a larger initiative called 'Project
Rock.'

I used it for five days to help me wake up an hour
earlier.

In the app, you can set a project, a deadline, and
select the sounds you want to wake up to.

After one week of use, I realized that motivation
starts with me - and without that internal desire to reach a
goal, external motivation won't have the the same impact.

Waking up is hard to do.

Sometimes I wake up when I intend to, but lay in bed for an extra
10 to 15 minutes staring at the ceiling, debating the value of
those extra minutes, and coercing myself into actually putting my
feet on the (cold) floor. Usually this happens somewhere between
7:15 and 7:30 a.m. - even though I tell my phone to wake me
around 7 a.m. Usually I end up rushing and not actually checking
things off my morning to-do list.

Ultimately, though, the problem isn't my inability to avoid the
snooze button - it's that I really just need some extra time in
the morning to shower, eat, dress, and chill out for a minute
before getting on the subway and heading into work.

I've tested numerous approaches to my
morning routine with the hopes I'd find something that
sparked some inspiration to become that person that wakes up at 6
a.m. I tried some of the more sudden/scary Apple alarm sounds -
like the one that sounds like a truck backing up - and I've made
my alarm upbeat songs I liked (that have since lost their
previous happiness-inducing power). I've also tried setting the
time for drastically earlier thinking my snoozes would then equal
out to the time I actually want to get up (that trick
never works).

So when someone at work told me the Rock had a motivational alarm
clock - well, I just couldn't resist giving it a shot.

Over 95 million people follow his workouts, projects, and
puppies on Instagram.

He released the 'Rock Clock' app as part of 'Project Rock,' a partnership with Under Armour to inspire people to strive for more.

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MTV

In 2015, the Rock announced a new
partnership with Under Armour called "Project Rock" - which
officially launched in 2016 - intended to "bring you
innovative and bad ass products that inspire men, women and kids
to stay hungry, humble and always be the hardest workers in the
room."

As part of this partnership, the brand aims to create
inspiring products for audiences hoping to reach their goals -
and these products are referred to as "projects."

The alarm is project number two of four to be released -
the first was a backpack, and the last two have yet to be
announced.

I downloaded the the Rock Clock and set it up for the work week.

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Rock Clock/Hannah Schaffer

When you first open the app it asks you to type in your goal or
project and select an end date - so I wrote "Wake Up Earlier,"
and set the deadline for the upcoming Friday. I set the alarm for
6:30 a.m.

The first morning got off to a slow start.

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Almost too dark to wake up.

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Hannah Schaffer

6:30 a.m. I opened my eyes up to The Rock singing to me:

"Good morning sunshine. Yeah, that's what the Rock just said.
Open your eyes up! Get your candy a-- out of bed."

However, it was still dark - and cloudy - which meant that while
I was was kind of already awake, being sung to did not
help me resist the urge to lie in bed. And because there isn't a
snooze button in the app, I cleverly set my regular alarm for 15
minutes later.

I got up around 6:45, and thought it might be fun to give one of
the other alarm sounds the app offers a chance the next day -
even though I do get a kick out of listening to Dwayne Johnson
refer to me a "candy a--."

Day two, however, was a huge success.

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I made breakfast at home.

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Hannah Schaffer

This morning I thought I heard the alarm go off at a really,
really low volume. I was still half asleep, and pretty ticked, so
turned the volume up and sat it back down on my side table,
internally debating if I should get up for real.

It wasn't until I opened my eyes and looked at my phone,
contemplating setting the iPhone alarm clock for a later time
that I realized it was only 6:26 a.m.- meaning the Rock Clock
hadn't gone off yet and I was purely imagining/dreaming in a
slightly lucid state.

I guess I would consider that as the app having a lasting impact.

So, I got up, showered, and was dressed by the time I normally
wake up. I even had time to make myself a solid breakfast
quesadilla and coffee - and I couldn't resist feeling proud.

Day three was jarring, but effective.

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Rock Clock

I realized that, despite the lack of a snooze button, I could set
two alarms within the app - so I did. One was set for 6:30 a.m.,
and the other for 6:40 a.m.

But I woke up before the alarm again, so clearly I anticipated
hearing the Rock sing to me. I let the first alarm go and started
to doze off, but I picked one of the other tones for the second
alarm called "Iron" - yes, it's someone hammering metal
repeatedly - which was so loud and unexpected I actually jumped
out of bed when it went off.

So I guess job accomplished.

On day four, I got in trouble with the Rock.

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Hannah Schaffer

My morning notes for this day were very brief: "Lazy morning but
got up."

Clearly I was uninspired at the time. I think novelty of it was
beginning to wear off, and it felt like just another alarm. I
knew what to expect.

I woke up and got in the shower before 7 a.m. but when I got back
to my room, I realized I hadn't turned off the second alarm - and
I had a ton of notifications from the app. I'm not sure if it
actually went off, or if it just sends those notifications when
you close out of it - but either way, just reading them made me
feel a little guilty.

My fifth day was the best yet.

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I went to one of my coffee places — and sat down for a few minutes.

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Hannah Schaffer

Friday I woke up with the first alarm and was so productive, not
rushed, and on time that I honestly couldn't believe it. I washed
the dishes, took out all of the garbage and recycling, got my
lunch together, and walked to the cafe around the corner for a
coffee - and walked back to my apartment again before
getting on the train. I even had a minute to sit at the cafe and
write out my to-do list for the day.

It was a great morning before I had even been awake for three
hours. Mission accomplished!

One week later, I'm still using it.

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Rock Clock/Project Rock

While the app is helpful, it hasn't completely changed my life.

All the Rock Clocks in the world won't be helpful if you
don't have a tangible, specific goal in mind.

The Rock Clock is just an alarm clock unless you actively decide
to use it as a goal tracker. A lot of waking up earlier is
personal desire to wake up earlier, and my half-hearted attempts
to pull myself away from sleep have more to do with a struggle to
remind myself WHY I am waking up earlier. Had my goal been
tied to something a bit more tangible - like waking up early to
make breakfast at home, write, or exercise - the Rock Clock would
have been more motivational.

The app itself could use some iterating.

The app is fun and it's funny - but it could be stellar. You have
to keep it open all night and put your phone on sleep mode to
work, which is somewhat frustrating, and the "Daily Motivational
Quote" stays the same all week. It does not change.

And while it definitely helped me wake up - I woke up
anticipating it - it mostly served the purpose of being something
unusual and different to jumpstart the day.

But I'm still using it.

One week later, I've both used and skipped it. Sometimes it
offers a nice alternative to the sound I usually hear coming out
of my phone in the morning. And if I decide that I want to wake
up early for a specific reason - I'll have it at the ready.